Civil Society Organizations Launch #NotAGoodCustom Flashmob Against Stefanchuk’s New Civil Code (Updated)

On 9 July, anti-corruption, human rights, and environmental organizations, together with media outlets, launched the nationwide #NotAGoodCustom flashmob. They argue that the legislative initiative promoted by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk could dismantle more than 20 years of established judicial practice, create risks for Ukraine’s European integration, weaken the protection of the environment, cultural heritage sites, national defense, freedom of speech, and other public interests, while also legalizing unlawfully acquired property.

The organizers call on citizens to join the campaign by downloading specially designed posters, printing them, placing them in designated public notice areas in their cities or towns, and posting photos on social media using the hashtag #NotAGoodCustom. They believe this public campaign can help prevent the bill from reaching the parliamentary floor for consideration.

Olena Kravchenko, Executive Director of Environment–People–Law, says the controversial draft poses serious risks to environmental protection:

“The current Civil Code, adopted more than 20 years ago, allows us to protect forests and coastlines from illegal land grabs. Over the years, the judiciary has developed strong case law based on it. Adopting a new Civil Code would erase this judicial practice and create obstacles to Ukraine’s European integration. The European Union has repeatedly stressed that legal certainty and consistency in judicial practice are fundamental principles of the rule of law. Moreover, Book Nine of the draft Civil Code – criticized even by the Ministry of Justice – essentially legalizes stolen property. The authors of the bill argue that once ownership is registered, neither the state nor local communities will be able to reclaim what rightfully belongs to them.”

Iryna Fedoriv, Head of the civic initiative Holka, notes that despite more than 15,000 amendments submitted to Stefanchuk’s draft Civil Code, the Speaker has not abandoned hopes of securing enough votes in the second reading:

“Exactly one year ago, Ruslan Stefanchuk rushed through Parliament the law that dismantled the independence of NABU and SAPO. At the time, we did not even have enough time to register a petition before President Zelenskyy signed the law the very same day despite public protests. With the Civil Code, civil society acted in advance. Immediately after the first reading, a petition calling on President Zelenskyy to veto Stefanchuk’s legislative initiative collected more than 29,000 signatures in just one day. However, the Speaker of Parliament remains determined, and the second reading could be scheduled just as swiftly as the NABU and SAPO law. That is why we urge citizens to download our posters – or create their own – and display them in locations where posting notices is permitted. We also want to remind Members of Parliament that their first-reading votes are already publicly available through the ‘You Have the Power to Recharge the Country’ tool. It would be better not to proceed to the second reading and avoid creating additional social tensions in a country at war.”

The campaign has been joined by leading human rights organizations, analytical centers, environmental groups, and media outlets, including Greenpeace Ukraine, Civic Fortis, Environment–People–Law, the National Platform of Housing Associations (OSBB), Teren, the Zaporizhzhia Center for Investigative Journalism, Resistance, the Women’s Anti-Corruption Movement (ZHAR), the media outlets Pohliad, Hrechka, Rayon.in.ua, the Free Svydovets initiative, Save Kytayiv, Khranyteli, and others. (Updated list of organizations supporting the campaign.)

As a reminder, on 28 April the Verkhovna Rada approved the draft Civil Code in the first reading. Members of every parliamentary faction and group voted in favor of the legislative initiative.

On 12 May, the petition addressed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surpassed 29,000 signatures. The President replied that the petition’s author should receive a response from the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

On 2 June, Denys Maslov, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy, announced that the bill had received a record-breaking more than 15,000 amendments for the second reading.